White Willow - Ignis Fatuus (1995)

#Músicaparaelencierro. Este es un hermoso disco, un bello debut de la banda y todo un clásico hoy por hoy. Horacio Manrique nos recuerda a los primeros White Willow y su "Ignis Fatuus", al que se suman ahora demos, outtakes y versiones en vivo. Los noruegos con su folk prog oscuro y sombrío que tantos buenos momentos nos hicieran pasar, en su ópera prima, para recordarlos una y mil veces.
 Artista: White Willow
Álbum: Ignis Fatuus
Año: 1995
Género: Rock sinfónico / Rock folk
Duración: 66:34 + 36:46
Nacionalidad: Noruega

White Willow es una banda por la que tengo especial cariño, y aunque no sea muy conocida en estas tierras es LA banda a mi gusto que termina por confirmar que los países escandinavos han sabido hacerse de un sitial importante en al ámbito musical, y más que nada hablando del progresivo, ya que nos es habitual hablar de progresivo italiano, inglés, americano, incluso en este espacio hablamos mucho de progresivo latinoamericano, es ya común, pero creo seremos injustos si no sumamos a nuestro lenguaje musical el Rock Progresivo Escandinavo, un rock que se caracteriza por su melancolía, sus influencias del folk y su oscuridad.
La lista de bandas es enorme, y abarcan desde The Flower Kings, Pär Lindh Project, Paatos, Sinkadus, Anglagard, Anekdoten, por nombrar solo algunas consolidan este gran legado musical de las tierras nórdicas, pero son muchas más.El álbum ha sido reeditado en un doble incluyendo demos y temas en vivo. Desde hace algunos días se puede escuchar la versión remasterizada en el sitio; http://www.progstreamingclassic.com/
Saludos ...

Gueor

Estamos en presencia de una banda magistral, con un material musical pleno de bellas melodías y poderosos ritmos sin caer en la estridencia, con muchas raíces folk, melodías medievales, ritmos poderosos, nobles instrumentos y hermosas voces, sin querer (ni necesitar) salir de su oscura y lúgubre escencia musical (tan emparentada con lo folcklórico de su país) muestran tal claridad en su magnífica propuesta musical que ha logrado sobrepasar su propia historia de desencuentros y cambios de alineación (aunque siempre con el liderazgo del guitarrista Jacob Holm-Lup), hasta llegar al fabuloso álbum "Terminal Twilight" en el 2011, no solo uno de sus mejores trabajos sino también uno de los mejores álbums progresivos de ese año, toda una muestra maravillosa de misterio, magia y sensibilidad hecha canciones, y con el mismo espíritu de siempre pero siempre evolucionando y presentando nuevas facetas.
Ahora presento el primer álbum de la banda, donde ya se vislumbra su estilo en todo su esplendor y que no dejaría de lado en ningún momento de su carrera. Estilo que podemos apreciar en la siguiente canción, una de las que más me gustan de este álbum, hablo de la maravillosa "Cryptomenysis", por favor, pongan a reproducir ese mágico track mientras teminan de leer los comentarios.


 De los comentarios que traigo, quería que le preseten especial atención al siguiente review, para mí es el que mejor lo representa:

El folclore escandinavo, pasajes progresivos y rockeros y la nostalgia forman singulares texturas gracias al soberbio trabajo de los músicos de la banda.
Hay discos que uno guarda con especial cariño en el corazón, por las más diversas razones, pero la mayoría de estos álbumes se quedan con uno porque están relacionados con momentos especiales de la vida, a modo de banda sonora. A veces se trata de discos malísimos, bodrios musicales que sin embargo, atesoramos como si fueran obras maestras. En otras, se trata de verdaderas joyas que además, se convierten en parte del catálogo personal, ese que te llevarás a la tumba y del que seguramente, tararearas una de sus canciones antes de morir.
En lo personal, Ignis Fatuus de los noruegos White Willow corresponde a esta última categoría. Banda desconocida por estos lares, liderada por el cerebro lúcido de Jacob Holm-Lupo y que entre 1995 y 2006 cosechó cinco placas de excelente factura, la primera de ella, justamente Ignis Fatuus.
Acompañado por músicos de excelencia que han ido rotando con el paso del tiempo, Holm-Lupo también tiene otros proyectos inspirados de los que hablaremos en otro momento. Por ahora, nos quedaremos con este debut soñado de White Willow, un álbum que se enraiza en el folclore escandinavo con ductilidad, misma que permite mezclar la delicadeza de estos sonidos con pasajes progresivos y rockeros que provocan escalofríos y en donde la nostalgia y la oscuridad atraviesan cada track con singulares texturas que combinan el soberbio trabajo en teclados de Jan Tariq Rahman, el delicado sonido de los vientos a cargo de Audun Kjus, el violín celestial de Tirill Mohn y por supuesto, la voz hipnótica de Sara Trondeal. Estos son sólo algunos de los elementos que convierten esta placa en una delicia para cualquier buen melómano.
El álbum comienza con la invernal Snowfall, liderada por una suave armonía en guitarra acústica y la voz de Trondall, tema que deriva en una sección progresiva "a la Genesis" que ahonda aún más en esa sensación de frío pero agradable invierno. En seguida escuchamos la avasalladora Lord of Night, un tema que en base a acordes folk deriva en una pieza oscura, densa, casi brutal. Un tema que todo fanático del prog debe tener en su memoria. Song, en tanto, es una breve pieza que nos retrotrae al universo medieval, mientras que Ingentingnos lleva a pasear por bosques fríos y oscuros, llenos de hadas y faunos, por medio de una delicada melodía basada en guitarras. The Withering of the Boughts es, quizás, una de las mejores piezas del álbum, una pequeña suite que partiendo una vez más de raíces folk, deriva poderosamente en texturas medievales y progresivas galopantes y volátiles, lideradas por flauta y teclados.
El álbum prosigue con Lines on the Autumnal Evening, es una deliciosa pieza instrumental barroca para cello, guitarra y voces, mientras que Now in These Fairy Lands vuelve a sorprender por sus cambios acotados al folk y mixturas progresivas setenteras, otro manjar para los asiduos al prog, mientras que Piletreet es una breve pieza que abre paso a la delicada Till He Arrives, que casi linda con el jazz. Otro de los platos fuertes viene en seguida. Se trata de Cryptomenysis, una larga pieza instrumental en donde Holm-Lupo y compañía vuelven a hacer gala de un extraordinario talento para adentrarse en lo más oscuro del género con algunas armonías casi metaleras apenas perceptibles pero importantísimas al momento de desarrollar este épico de proporciones que remece y provoca escalofríos.
Al final, nos encontramos con Signs, otra delicada melodía nórdica liderada por la voz de Troendal, misma que abre paso a otro épico titulado John Dee\'s Lament, que retoma las características principales que cruzan las composiciones de largo aliento de White Willow, un delicado trabajo en los arreglos, una abierta tendencia hacia el progresivo clásico en base al sonido del mellotrón, pasajes folk de extrema delicadeza y explosiones épicas que abruman.
Además de ser un maravilloso ejemplo de folk prog, el disco este cayó en mis manos en una época de desvarío emocional e intelectual que fue acompañado perfectamente por cado uno de los temas que conforman esta maravillosa placa que, por cierto, deben conseguir a toda costa.

Iván Ávila

After reading recently that WW soon will release their fifth studio album I was thinking it's finally time to deliver my outstanding review for their debut. Just beforehand I'd like to emphasise that "Ignis Fatuus" has to be considered as one of the most impressive first releases by a progressive rock band. Already the huge list of musicians involved which is not just a maculation is a strong hint that there's something really big to be expected by this work. Strongly rooted in Scandinavian folk and mostly revealing a dark and melancholic mood this band's music neither becomes pompous nor monosonic at any moment. This album is dominated by acoustic instruments (guitar,flute,violin,cello) and keyboards have been used rather as an accentuation of the atmosphere than as a focus. Although there are reminiscences of the glorious days of early seventies, mainly due to the often used Mellotron this music is far away from any conventional retro prog and exhibits absolutely a modern and self-contained style. Musicianship and vocal performances (both male and female, at times wordless) are consistently flawless and brilliant. All the compositions are highly diversified and ranging from folksy, medieval-type tunes (with authentic instruments like hurdy-gurdy,crumhorn or bagpipes) to modern symphonic type ones, predominantly on the more mellow end of Prog and only occasionally there are more dark-heavy sections. Though it's hard to tell any outstanding tracks since all of them are really excellent, I could mention as highlights: "The Withering Of The Boughts", "Lines On An Autumnal Evening", "Cryptomenysis" and "John Dee's Lament".
Usually I'm careful with giving away the full score for an album, but I think their first one is together with "Storm Season" absolutely worth it. All fellows who don't need their prog to be necessarily heavy and crunchy will probably agree to me. I'm already impatiently awaiting their upcoming fifth release.

Dieter Fischer

This is one album that made me have high expectations for upcoming releases but only to be deceived by them. On the strength of the early 90's Scandinavian melancholic prog boom like Anglagard, Anekdoten and Landberk, came a second wave including Catweazle, Galleon, Ageness, Twin Age, Simon Says and White Willow.
If most of these groups were developing an up-graded/up-dated neo-prog, White Willow was definitely looking a bit more towards the retro prog of the first wave groups mentioned above. But unlike those three, they music was not quite as dense (musically speaking, you twits!! ;-) and definitely more atmospheric. But can these guys ever get melancholic!!!

Sean Trane

One of the best examples regarding the experimental "Folk-prog" stuff, enriched with some analogical synthesizers. Recommended obviously if you're into such style, that is a sort of modern version of the classic experimental "Folk-prog", concerning for instance the music of GRYPHON , but with elements of "Northern Scandinavian Folklore" and in a symphonic contest as well. Instead - out of this strange contest - probably the right score should be a bit inferior.

Lorenzo

My fond addiction to this band's music started with their 1995 release on The Laser's Edge. With their patented strong Scandanavian influences, WHITE WILLOW also interestingly for me build in that certain magical progressive mannerism which caught my attention. With a fine array of instrumentation including a fine use of vintage analog keyboards this band have my ears. "Ignis Fatuus" is their most relaxed album to date but still contains all their mystical moods and creative Folk Prog elements. The musicians on this album are also quite talented and offer some great flute, keyboard, acoustic guitar bass and vocalizations. The music of WHITE WILLOW is always teetering on the edge of darkness, but never gets ugly or eerie... always creative. Sara Trondeal's vocals are fantastic and definitely add to the Scandanavian mystical vibe I get when I hear this album. Sara is supported by the talents of Jan Tariq Rahman (keyboards, recorders, crumhorn, kantele, sitar, bass pedals, bass, vocals, devices), Tirill Mohn (violins, classical guitar), Audun Kjus (flutes, whistles, pipes, bodhran, vocals), Eldrid Johansen (vocals), Alexander Engebretsen (bass) and the band leader Jacob C. Holm-Lupo (guitars). Overall a gentle yet very moving album full of superb workmanship and song writing.

James Unger

Ignis Fatuus is the debut album from Norwegian band White Willow, part of the Scandinavian revival of Symphonic prog rock in the 90's. This is an interesting album were the songs seem to be split, several are Symphonic prog (Snow Fall, Cryptomenysis, etc) and others are Prog folk (The Withering Of The Boughs, Lines In An Autumnal Evening, etc), an approach which works well here and sets out their style for the next few years with confidence.
Regardless of the style of the songs, this album overall has a laid back feel to it and IMO this album is brilliant to just sit back and relax to. The music to many of the songs can be described as slow, yet deliberate, creating a tranquil atmosphere. However, when the musical compositions are combined with the lyrics and the way that they are sung (particularly with the voice of Eldrid Johansson) the songs give of a melancholic feel with a few notable exceptions. The exceptions would be Now In These Fairy Lands and Till He Arrives, both of which seem to give off an uplifting feeling which counters nicely with the melancholy of the other songs.
Though this album is rather soft, with the aim being to create exquisitely beautiful, rather than "rocking" music, there are some songs on here that exude a feeling of power without resorting to particularly heavy guitar, drum and bass sounds that could have been an easy lure. This is a tack shown to its best on the opening two tracks, Snowfall and Lord of the Night, and the closing mini-epics, Cryptomenysis and John Dee's Lament. I notice that these also seem to be the stand out tracks on this album for me. The last two in particular exude a really creepy feeling that can make my skin crawl without ever loosing that sense of beauty. If you like his kind of thing then you really need to hear these two songs.
One thing that I cant get away from is the feel that this is more of a collection of songs than a fully coherent album. Don't get me wrong, the songs work well at getting the feelings that they try to bring from you with the music and lyrics, but they don't seem to mesh together like you would expect. I presume this is due to the songs being recorded over a two year period and some musicians only appearing on a couple of songs.
I also find all of the sub 3 minute songs to be unnecessary on here. For instance, Cryptomenysis and John Dee's lament would flow together really well but they are separated by the 2 minute passage of Signs. I find this gets in the way and it happens at other times in the album. Its not that the music is bad on these bridge's, its just that they weren't needed at all. This sadly means that the album is a bit longer than I think it needed to be, but it doesn't really detract from this.
Overall it's a great album that works really well when you just sit back, relax and listen. Some songs are uplifting, others are more melancholic and some are down right creepy! It looses a star as I find the shorter tracks to be unnecessary and breaks down the sense of cohesion slightly, but it achieves its main aim of creating beautiful melancholic music excellently.

Andrew Carter

WHITE WILLOW's debut album is a great blend of dark,Scandinavian folk music and that classic seventies Prog sound.These are songs that various members of the band had recorded over a two year period. There are so many instruments that are used on this record, it's incredible ! There is mellotron used on at least 8 of the 12 tracks, although it is very subtle.
"Snowfall" opens with gentle guitar as male and female vocals in English come in. There are outbursts of drums before the song becomes pastoral again. "Lord Of Night" has female vocals with light drums and flute. Violin comes into this mellow soundscape. Some heaviness 3 minutes in with some good guitar. Vocals are back after 5 minutes. I'm reminded of SINKADUS 6 minutes in. "Song" is like a traditional Norwegien folk song and is my least favourite. "Ingenting" is one of my three favourite songs on this album. It's very pleasant sounding,so delicate and beautiful with fragile male vocals. "The Withering of the Boughs" is the earliest recorded song that is on this album. It's an excellent tune with male vocals and a female vocal melody accompanying.The song speeds up towards the end.
"Lines On An Autumnal Evening" features guitar and flute with cello later. A great female vocal melody 3 minutes in. "Now In These Fairy Lands" has English female vocals and 12 string guitar as the song builds with drums upfront. "Piletreef" is another very good song thanks to the fantastic female vocal melodies. "Till he Arrives" has some gentle guitar and flute melodies. Drums come in as song speeds up. "Cryptomenysis" is my favourite song on this disc. The organ to begin things reminds me of SINKADUS. The female vocal melodies with drums and guitar are incredible. There is some heaviness after 5 minutes. The female vocal melodies come back late in the song. "Signs" is a mellow folk song with classical guitar and violin. "John Aee's Lament" is one of my top three songs on this record. It opens with a piano melody followed by drums and male vocals. Drums dominate as the violin comes in. Great sound ! After 7 minutes i'm reminded of SINKADUS again.
If your into SINKADUS i think you'll love this album. It is more laid back than that band though. Fans of folk music should check this out.

John Davie

Norway fascinates the adventurous and inquisitive mind like few other places. Their people have traveled far and wide, centuries before Columbus, sailing the wild Atlantic seas on brilliantly crafted ships called "drakkars" (that still are regarded by shipbuilders as the epitome of hand-made naval engineering). They fiercely fought of challenges from aggressive neighbors and today enjoy one of the highest living standards anywhere. Their people are modest, quietly charming, exceedingly healthy, sports-minded and have some wonderful progbands (for such a small population): from the veterans Kerrs Pink, Fruitcake and Host to the brilliant Kvazar, the stunning Gazpacho, the astounding Shine Dion, the prolific multi-instrumentalist Bjorn Lynne, the abrasively angular Ravana, as well as the new Vikes on the Block: Wobbler, Magic Pie and Retroheads. White Willow's debut album relies on strikingly beautiful folk atmospherics, incorporating a multitude of classical instruments (violins, krumhorns, recorders, bagpipes) with the traditional progressive arsenal (electric guitar, assorted keys, bass and drums). The end result is a mystical musical voyage that reflects the towering fjords, the lush yet frozen forests, the pristine lakes and streams, the billowing fog banks and the endless arctic horizons. Sara Trondal's shimmering voice entrances and beguiles, ("warm my bones beside the fire" as David Gilmour once so famously sang), with a deeply melancholic and serene kaleidoscope of sounds to elevate the compositions to exhilarating heights. Occasionally guitar flights and the rock solid syncopations of the rhythm section keep the prog ship steadily on course, so one never wanders off into outright folkdom. There is also a very muted hint of despair or perhaps numbness, which is typical of all Nordic civilizations, that is hard to pinpoint on this disc but the following albums will reveal a heavier dose of angst (the cold wind of Thor?) , a characteristic that seems to permeate all Scandinavian progbands , whether from Finland, Sweden, Denmark or Norway. All the tracks deserve applause, with the extended epics "Snowfall", "The Withering of the Boughs", "Lord of Night", "John Dee's Lament " and "Cryptomensys" being particularly haunting, the overall quality of the musicianship is absolutely topnotch, led by group leader, composer and guitarist Jacob Holm-Lupo. This is perfect autumnal musical fare that can only elicit repeated pleasure from those proggers who like mood, atmosphere and fantasy. I am overjoyed to notice the obvious glee my esteemed PA reviewer sinkadotentree holds for this record. Like me, he is most obviously a "Melancholy Man". And that's cooler than the arctic winds.. 4.5 auroras

Thomas Szirmay
Y los comentarios podrían seguir, encontrarán muchos de ellos en la red, quizás con mucha diferencia de apreciación entre uno y otro. Yo creo que estas propuestas tan contundentes en su personalidad y estilo (que a su modo también les sucede a grupos como Rush o Yes) generan mucho apego o mucho rechazo, pero es muy difícil que nos quedemos indiferentes.
Como puntos negativos, podemos decir que el álbum tiene altibajos, hay algunas canciones que no tienen nada fuera de lo común, pero por otro lado los puntos buenos son muy altos, y son de los que te pueden hacer tocar el cielo con las manos. Recalco, los mejores momentos del álbum son geniales.
Mención aparte, tenemos que mencionar la cantidad de instrumentos tocados en este disco es extraordinario e incluye todo tipo de guitarras, bajos, sitar, silbatos, percusiones, flautas, violines y violonchelo junto con un gran colchón de teclados. Aún así, no hay ostentación ni pomposidad de ningún tipo, ni repentinos estallidos, los pasajes con flauta y chelos son muy agradables y aportan frescura pero quizás no sean el elemento más distintivo hablando sobre el conjunto de canciones que componen el álbum.
Terminando, este es un disco que tienen que conocer, con una propuesta sumamente interesante como es la de White Willow. Personalmente el disco me gusta mucho, tiene momentos realmente fabulosos y espero que a ustedes también les agrade. Muy recomendado, los invito a que se sumerjan en esta deliciosa y dulce melancolía.
www.whitewillow.info
www.myspace.com/whitewillowband 
Lista de Temas:
1. Snowfall
2. Lord Of Night
3. Song
4. Ingenting
5. The Withering Of The Boughts
6. Lines On An Autumnal Evening
7. Now In These Fairy Lands
8. Piletreet
9. Till He Arrives
10. Cryptomenysis
11. Signs
12. John Dee's Lament

Bonus disc from 2013 remaster:
1. Lord Of Night (Live)
2. Grankvad (Demo)
3. I In The Eye (Outtake)
4. Snowfall (Demo)
5. Til He Arrives (Demo)
6. Det Omvendte Baeger (Outtake)
7. Moonchild (Demo)

Alineación:
- Jan Tariq Rahman / keyboards, recorders, crumhorn, kantele, sitar, bass pedals, bass, vocals, devices
- Tirill Mohn / violins, classical guitar
- Audun Kjus / flutes, whistles, pipes, bodhran, vocals
- Sara Trondeal / vocals
- Eldrid Johansen / vocals
- Jacob C. Holm-Lupo / guitars
- Alexander Engebretsen / bass
- The Drummer / drums and percussion
*with many guest musicians